Hobart Day Surgery

Preparing for your hospital visit

• Before your surgery

  What you need to do:

  • Arrange for a responsible adult to accompany you home and stay with you for 24 hours after your surgery
  • Contact your private health fund to check your level of cover
  • Make a note of your admission time and fasting instructions, which we will provide during the pre-admission phone call in the week prior to your visit
  • Advise us of any special dietary needs
  • Please shower prior to surgery
  • Please contact your doctor prior to surgery if your health has deteriorated, as we may need to postpone the procedure until you’re feeling better

  We cannot discharge you following an anaesthetic unless you have a designated carer. If this is not possible, your procedure may be cancelled. Please telephone the hospital as soon as possible if you are having any difficulty finding a carer.

  For 24 hours after an anaesthetic, you will not be able to:

  • Drive a vehicle
  • Drink alcohol
  • Operate machinery
  • Make important decisions
  • Sign legal documents

  Admission and Health Assessment form
• What to bring
  • Please bring your Medicare card, and where relevant your Private Health Insurance membership card, Veterans’ Affairs card, and/or Pensioner Concession card
  • A list of medications you are currently taking
  • Any recent and relevant X-rays, scans and test results
  • Any advanced care plan and/or treatment-limiting orders
  • Any personal aids you need (glasses, walking aids)
  • Any payment required to settle your account
  • Your Power of Attorney documentation (if applicable)

  You will also need to wear loose comfortable clothing.

• What not to bring
  • Please leave all valuables at home
  • Do not wear make-up, nail polish or jewellery
  • Please remove all piercings including earrings

  We are unable to provide childcare during your procedure, and ask that you make alternative arrangements for the care of your children while you are in hospital.

• Children's surgery

  It’s natural to feel anxious if your child is undergoing surgery, and we will do everything we can to make your family comfortable and relaxed. Toys are provided for your child’s entertainment while they wait for their operation. It’s a good idea to bring:

  • A favourite toy, story book or activity
  • Change of clothes and underwear
  • A baby’s bottle if required

  We will invite one parent or carer into the recovery room to be with your child after surgery. Only you know who the right person is, so please consider this carefully. You can bring a change of clothes, or some favourite food into the second stage recovery room.

• Patients requiring assistance

  In the interest of patient and staff safety, Hobart Day Surgery has a strict no lift policy. The meaning of ‘no lift’ in this policy is that staff are not permitted to lift patients manually to handle, transfer or mobilise patients because of the injury risk that this can present.

  Should you require assistance with access to Hobart Day Surgery, please contact the General Manager / Director of Nursing via the link below, who will be able to guide you with other available options. This is considered on a case-by-case basis.

  If approval is given to use your own hoist, a copy of the service record must be sited on arrival and an indemnity form completed.

  General Manager / Director of Nursing
• Fasting

  Before you undergo an anaesthetic, you will need to avoid eating anything for 6 hours. This protects your airways during surgery. During your pre-admission phone call, we will let you know when this fasting period should begin and when you can have your last drink of water.

  Please do not chew gum, eat lollies or have any milk-based drinks during your fasting period.

  We will give you a snack and light refreshment when you are in the recovery room after your surgery.

• Medications

  Check with your doctor, anaesthetist or GP whether you should take your prescribed medications on the morning of your procedure. You can take them with a sip of water if fasting. Patients with diabetes should discuss their medication with the pre-admission nurse. If you are on blood thinning medication and have not stopped your medication, please check with the pre-admission nurse.

• Smoking

  Please be advised that Hobart Day Surgery is a smoke free environment. Please do not smoke on the day of your procedure.

• Getting here and parking

  There is limited free parking onsite, so please consider being dropped off before your carer parks elsewhere. We will notify your carer when you’re ready for discharge.

• Admission

  When you arrive, please report to the reception desk where our staff will take you through the admission process. We will confirm your name, date of birth, admitting details and doctor. These standard identification procedures will be repeated throughout your stay to ensure your safety.

  We will provide you with a locker for your clothes and belongings, but please do not bring large sums of money, jewellery or other valuables as we cannot accept responsibility for their security.

  Every effort will be made to ensure you are not kept waiting before your procedure, but there are times when other patients require longer periods in theatre than we anticipate. Your surgery is likely to commence 30 to 90 minutes after you arrive, although this will depend on the procedure.

  We’ll let you and your carer know if there are any delays and how your expected discharge time might be affected. It’s a good idea to bring a book or something to keep you occupied just in case.

• Billing & health insurance

  Hobart Day Surgery has arrangements in place with all private health funds. We advise that you check your private health insurance cover before admission. Any excess or out of pocket costs not covered by your health fund need to be paid on the day of your procedure. To assist you with your claim, a health benefit form will be completed on admission and forwarded to your health fund on your behalf.

  If you do not have private health insurance, you will be required to pay the full amount for your private hospital admission. Your surgeon will provide you with an estimate of these fees. This estimate only refers to fees charged by the hospital according to your hospital booking. This amount will need to be paid on admission to the hospital.

  Please note there is no rebate from Medicare for your hospital charges. You will also receive an account direct from the specialists involved in your procedure, such as a surgeon, anaesthetist or assistants, and will need to pay for any prescriptions provided by a pharmacist. These costs are separate to the hospital fees.

  Third party claims

  If you are a Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) patient, we will lodge a claim with the DVA for you. If your surgery is part of a WorkCover or Third Party (TAC) claim, you will need to make the full payment (apart from ancillary charges) on admission – unless we have received written approval for admission from WorkCover or TAC.

  We accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express and EFTPOS, as well as bank cheques and money orders. Personal cheques will not be accepted.

  Questions to ask your private health insurer

  Before you have surgery, we recommend you contact your private health insurer and check whether you are covered for surgery. We have provided a guide to the questions you should ask.

  Am I covered?
• After your surgery

  After your operation, you will be offered refreshments and a light snack and be given time to recuperate before dressing and returning home. You must have a responsible adult to collect you after the procedure and stay with you for 24 hours. We will let them know your approximate discharge time.

  Before you leave Hobart Day Surgery, any special instructions will be explained to you and your carer It is important you follow these instructions to ensure the best outcome from your procedure. Your doctor’s rooms will provide you with a follow up appointment with your doctor after your surgery.

  Your anaesthetist will give you a prescription for any pain relief and/or antibiotics if required after surgery. These may be required soon after being discharged, so please pick this medication up on your way home.

  One of our nursing staff will contact you within a few days to check on your progress and answer any questions. Those having cataract surgery will not receive a call as they will see their surgeon the next day.

  Preventing falls

  After your procedure and anaesthetic you may be at risk of falling or tripping. Take care when moving around and we encourage you to rest and let your carer assist you for the remainder of the day.

  Nausea

  This is less common with modern anaesthetics. If it does occur, it should only be temporary. If nausea persists, avoid food but maintain fluids. If it does not resolve within 24 hours, it is important that you contact your doctor.

  Sore throat

  This may occur due to your anaesthetist assisting with your breathing. It usually disappears within 24 hours. Simple pain relief may help relieve this.

  Tender arm or hand at injection site

  This may occur due to irritation of the vein or slight bruising from the needle or the drugs injected, and can persist for several days. If your arm or hand look red or inflamed please contact your surgeon or family doctor.

  Infection

  Please contact your surgeon if you are concerned about any redness, swelling, pain or discharge from your wound.

  Hand hygiene

  We advise patients and carers to wash hands prior to attending wound care or administering eye drops (as per doctor’s instructions).

• Privacy

  As a patient of Hobart Day Surgery your privacy and dignity will be maintained at all times. We hold medical records relating to your treatment, and the content of these records will only be divulged with your consent or where permitted or authorised by law.

  We will handle your personal information in accordance with Australian Privacy Principles and legislation that governs how hospitals handle your personal and health information. For more information, read our Patient Information & Pre-Admission Booklet, and download tthe Australian Privacy Principles fact sheet.

  Privacy Policy
• Quality & Safety

  Hobart Day Surgery strictly follows all statutory and relevant body guidelines and Australian Standards. We work hard to provide both a supportive environment and the highest level of care for our patients and staff.

  We work together under the management of our Medical Advisory Committee (MAC) and General Manager/Director of Nursing.

  Patient feedback and quality of care

  We never stop caring about patient care. That’s why we continually monitor and assess everything we do, so we can improve the quality of care we provide. Patient feedback plays a crucial role in maintaining and enhancing the quality of care provided at Hobart Day Surgery. By actively listening to our patients, we gain valuable insights into their experiences, allowing us to make informed decisions about how to improve our services. Our quality outcomes are reviewed by our MAC before being made available for consumer feedback.

  We encourage patients to confidentially share their thoughts through a post-operative survey sent via email, while guests and visitors can easily provide feedback through our website. This continuous process of collecting and reviewing feedback ensures that we remain responsive to the needs and expectations of our patients, aligning with the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) Standards.

  One of the key metrics we use to gauge patient satisfaction is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). The NPS is a simple way to measure how happy our patients are with the care they receive. At Hobart Day Surgery, patients are asked: “How likely are you to recommend our hospital to friends and family if they need similar care or treatment?”

  Patients answer this on a scale from 0 to 10, with:

  • 10 being ‘extremely likely’ and
  • 0 being ‘not likely at all’

  Scores of:

  • 9 or 10 are considered ‘promoters’ (very happy patients)
  • 7 or 8 are ‘passives’ (neutral), and
  • anything below 7 is a ‘detractor’ (unhappy patient)

  The NPS is calculated by subtracting the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters. According to global NPS standards, an NPS score above 70 is considered very high and shows the service is world-class. From October to December 2024, Hobart Day Surgery achieved a Net Promoter Score of 85.

  Some of the more detailed results from patient feedback during this period revealed:

  • 98% of surveyed patients expressed satisfaction with the quality of care received
  • 96% praised our staff’s communication
  • 98% felt safe whilst in our care

  These results highlight the effectiveness of our efforts and provide us with a clear direction for further enhancing our services.

  Workforce checks

  To make sure we offer the highest possible standard of comfort and care, our specialist clinical staff have their credentials and abilities assessed annually.

  Clinical handover

  To make sure nothing is missed, our systems ensure seamless continuity in the event your care is transferred from one person to another. This includes discharge instructions to patients and/or carers.

  Infection prevention & control

  Hobart Day Surgery follows strict infection control procedures. Our staff take every precaution to prevent infections and our antibiotic usage is monitored against best practice. As patients are discharged the same day, we try to get feedback from your specialist or GP if any infections occur. We encourage you to contact us directly if you have any concerns regarding this.

  Hobart Day Surgery employs a variety of strategies to prevent infections. These include:

  • auditing how often and how well staff wash their hands using soap and water or hand sanitiser
  • using gloves and specialised sterile equipment
  • using specialised disinfectants when cleaning facilities
  • following national guidelines for high-level disinfection and sterilisation processes
  • placing hand sanitiser dispensers in public areas throughout our hospital so that they are readily accessible to staff, patients and visitors.

  What can you do to help prevent infection?

  At Hobart Day Surgery, patients and visitors are part of the healthcare team. There are several things you can do to reduce the risk of infection for yourself and others:

  • Wash your hands carefully with soap and water or use hand sanitiser upon entering and leaving the hospital. This is the most important way you can prevent the spread of infection.
  • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands afterwards – every time!
  • If you do not have a tissue available, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not into your hand.
  • As a patient, report any infection you have had, especially if you are still on antibiotics.
  • Make sure you take the full course of antibiotics you have been given, even if you are feeling better.
  • If you have a dressing for a wound, keep the skin around the dressing clean and dry. Let the healthcare worker looking after you know promptly if it becomes loose or wet.
  • Tell your healthcare worker if the area around any drips, tubes or drains inserted into your body becomes red, swollen or painful.
  • Let the healthcare worker looking after you know if the equipment has not been cleaned properly.
  • Stop smoking before any surgery or procedure, as smoking increases the risk of infection.

  Infection Prevention Results from October to December 2024

  During the period October to December 2024, Hobart Day Surgery cared for 2077 patients and reported one post-surgical infection, neither of which caused harm. Our hospital will continue to review and improve the current strategies we have in place to minimise post-surgical infections.

  Hand hygiene

  Hobart Day Surgery is committed to the Hand Hygiene Australia program. We conduct regular audits to ensure compliance throughout our facility. At Hobart Day Surgery, we use auditors who are accredited by Hand Hygiene Australia to record whether hand hygiene has been performed correctly at our hospital. Our hand hygiene compliance rate was 84.7% for the last reporting period.

  Hand Hygiene is another name for hand washing or cleaning. Good hand hygiene is an important part of infection control. Germs can survive on unwashed hands for over an hour, and we can unknowingly transmit bacteria and viruses to others.

  All our staff are required to frequently wash their hands with soap and water or with waterless hand sanitiser. Both are equally effective. We follow the World Health Organisation’s guidelines for hand hygiene, which specify the following times when healthcare staff must wash their hands:

  • before touching a patient
  • after touching a patient
  • before a procedure
  • after a procedure
  • after touching a patient’s belongings or surroundings

  At Hobart Day Surgery, we use auditors who are accredited by Hand Hygiene Australia to record whether hand hygiene has been performed correctly at our hospital.

  Learn more about this program here.

  Falls within the hospital

  Patient falls are a leading cause of hospital-acquired injury and often prolong or complicate hospital stays. Patients may experience a fall because they are weakened by a medical condition or after an accident or surgery.

  At Hobart Day Surgery, we are committed to providing a safe environment for all patients. Between October and December 2024, we provided care for a total of 2,077 patients, and we are proud to report that there were zero patient falls during this period—a reflection of the robust and proactive measures we have in place that support patient safety.

  Pressure injuries

  Commonly known as bed sores, pressure injuries are areas of skin damage caused by prolonged pressure. They can range in severity from an area of reddened skin to ulcers with underlying tissue damage.

  Pressure injuries can sometimes occur when a patient remains in one position for a long period. Certain people are at increased risk of developing pressure injuries, such as the elderly, people who are bed-bound or have poor mobility, and people with chronic conditions like diabetes. These are most common on hips, tail bones, heels or other bony areas of the body.

  We have a range of approaches to treat and prevent pressure injuries, and our target is always to have zero pressure injuries.

  Unexpected Returns to Theatre

  An unexpected return to the operating theatre is a serious event that may occur if complications arise after surgery. This can happen for various reasons, including infections, bleeding, or other unforeseen issues. At Hobart Day Surgery, we have processes in place to mitigate this risk and deliver a high standard of care. From October to December 2024, we cared for many patients, Two of whom returned to theatre unexpectedly after surgery. Importantly, the return to theatre resulted in no harm. Our hospital remains dedicated to reviewing and improving our strategies to minimise returns to theatre.

  Medication Safety

  Safe medication management is important to us at Hobart Day Surgery. There are many systems in use throughout the hospital to support and promote safety in supplying and administering medications and monitoring their effects.

  Staff at Hobart Day Surgery follow strict guidelines to ensure that all medications are administered appropriately and accurately. We adhere to the 7 Rights of Medication Administration:

  • The Right Person
  • The Right Documentation and Clinical Context
  • The Right Drug
  • The Right Dose
  • The Right Date/Time
  • The Right Route
  • The Right to Uninterrupted Medication Administration

  There were four medication errors reported at our hospital during this time. We remain dedicated to capturing administration errors for investigations regarding medications in the future.

  Consumer Involvement

  We want to hear from you!

  With patients like you at the centre of our care model, we welcome your participation in reviewing our Quality & Safety reports. Please provide feedback on how we can continue to improve.

  Contact our General Manager/Director of Nursing at don@hobartdaysurgery.com

  Open Disclosure

  At Hobart Day Surgery, we are dedicated to ensuring transparency and trust through our Open Disclosure process. Open Disclosure involves clear and honest communication about any incidents that might cause concern during your treatment. It’s important to know that most issues in healthcare that don’t go as planned are minor and are often identified and addressed before they impact you.

  In cases where something small doesn’t go to plan, your doctor or nurse will inform you about what happened and how it was managed, just as they would discuss other aspects of your care. If a more serious incident occurs, we will inform you as soon as possible and arrange an Open Disclosure meeting to thoroughly discuss the situation. This process includes explaining what went wrong, why it happened, expressing our regret, and providing the necessary support.

  Our goal is to keep you fully informed and supported, addressing any concerns and working with you to improve our services. If you believe a serious incident has occurred that has not been acknowledged, please speak with your doctor, nurse or other healthcare staff, as we value your feedback in enhancing our care.

  Please click on the button below for more information on Open Disclosure.

  Nexus Quality and Safety Policy Open Disclosure fact sheet
• Our commitment to child safety

  We want children to be safe, happy and empowered. We support and respect all children, and this is entrenched in the way we train our staff and volunteers.

  We are committed to the safety, participation and empowerment of all children.

  We have zero tolerance of child abuse, and all allegations and safety concerns will be treated very seriously, and consistent with our robust child safety policies and procedures.

  We have legal and moral obligations to contact authorities when we are worried about a child’s safety, which we follow rigorously.

  Our organisation is committed to preventing child abuse and identifying risks early and removing and reducing these risks.

  Our organisation has robust human resources and recruitment practices for all staff and volunteers.

  Our organisations are committed to regularly training and educating our staff and volunteers on child abuse risks.

  We support and respect all children, as well as our staff and volunteers.

  We are committed to the cultural safety of Aboriginal children, the cultural safety of children from a culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds, and to providing a safe environment for children with a disability.

  We have specific policies, procedures and training in place that support our leadership team, staff and volunteers to achieve these commitments.

  If you believe a child is at immediate risk of abuse phone 000.

  Please contact our General Manager / Director of Nursing via the button below if you wish to view the full policy.

  Contact us
• Complaints, concerns and feedback

  Please complete our Patient Satisfaction Survey, which you will receive by email after your procedure. We appreciate your honest feedback, as we are always looking for ways to improve our patients’ experience.

  If there is any aspect of your care that you are not happy with, please contact the General Manager / Director of Nursing. We will promptly acknowledge and investigate any complaint, and communicate the outcome and any recommendations with you.

  If your complaint is unresolved, you can contact:

  Health Complaints Commissioner

  GPO Box 960
  Hobart
  TAS 7001

  Phone: 1800 001 170

  Feedback form